SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
PHOTOS BY FELICIA LAGUERRE OWENS
The 2024 college basketball season is now over. First up is the NIT. After getting snubbed by the NCAA tournament committee, the Seton Hall Pirates did get a nice consolation prize, as they defeated the Indiana State Sycamores 79-77 to win the prestigious National Invitational Tournament. The win marked the second NIT title for The Hall, with the first coming in 1953.
Al-Amir Dawes was the player of the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, and teammate Dre Davis scored the game winning layup with 16 seconds in the game. The game was played at the famed Hinkle Fieldhouse, and Dawes and Kadary Richmond were named to the All NIT Tournament Team.
On April 5, the winning SHU men’s basketball team was honored on Seton Hall’s campus by their fans and the South Orange community. There was a brief celebratory program and University Director of Athletics Bryan Felt thanked the crowd and fans for showing up for all three games at Walsh Gym. Head Coach Shaheen Holloway said to the packed crowd, “We made history. Thank you to all the fans for supporting the team this season.
As for the Big Dance, the Women’s National Championship game was the most watched game ever on ESPN, thanks to the hype of Caitlin Clark. Despite scoring 30 points for the Iowa Hawkeyes, it wasn’t enough to overcome the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, who won the battle 87-75 to finish 38-0 and as National Champions. Kamilla Cardoso was named Most Outstanding Player (MOP) with 15 points and 17 rebounds in her final collegiate game before heading to the WNBA Draft, where Clark will likely go #1 overall to the Indiana Fever.
As for the main event, the men’s tournament saw back to back NCAA national champions in Connecticut, who finished their season with a big victory at State Farm Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona. The Huskies beat the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 in front of 74.698 basketball fans and a national television audience. Connecticut is now 6-0 in national championship games.
Leading Connecticut was tournament MOP Tristen Newton, who had 20 points. Leading Purdue was player of the year and 7’4” center Zach Edey with 37 points. Upon winning the crown, UConn became the first back to back title winner since Florida in 2006 and 2007. Among active head coaches, NJ native Danny Hurley is one of two with multiple championship titles, with the other being Kansas coach Bill Self.
As UConn tried to win three in a row next season, they will do so with now-former Kentucky head coach John Calipari serving in that role for Arkansas. The one-time title winner left the Wildcats amid tension over early exits from the NCAA tournament.
